Joseph, though sold byhis brothers into slavery in Egypt, has risen to theposition of Viceroy. The Pharaoh has placed him in chargeof feeding the world in a time of devastating famine. Jacob sends all but one of his sons to purchasegrain in Egypt. He does not send Benjamin though “becausehe said, ‘Perhaps a fatal accident will occur to him.’”

When the brothers finally make it to Egypt they areconfronted by Joseph, whom they do not recognize as theirbrother. He feigns hostility, accusing them of being spies. Josephdemands that they bring their youngest brother, Benjamin, back toEgypt with them; otherwise they will no longer be welcome. In addition, he demands their brother Shimon as a hostage.

When Joseph’s brothers returned home, they told Jacob thatthe viceroy of Egypt required that they bring Benjamin tohim. Jacob demurred, saying “You have bereaved me! Joseph isgone, and Shimon is gone, and you want to takeBenjamin! … His brother is dead, and he is the onlyone left. A fatality will occur to him on theway…”

Finally, when the family has exhausted their food supply, and Yehudah has given his guarantee of Benjamin’s safereturn, Jacob relents.

Why was Jacob so concerned about Benjamin’s safety? And why did he finally accede to thedemand to send him when Yehudah guaranteed his safety?

Rashiaddresses the first question and answers: “From here we deducethat the Satan makes accusations at a time of danger.” Satan represents the destructive forces of evil that prey onus when we are most vulnerable.

However, the question hasbeen raised, why was Jacob concerned only with the dangerto Benjamin’s life and not the lives of theother brothers?

One answer is (seeLikkutei Sichosvolume VP. 213ff) that Rachel passed away and was buriedon the road back to the Land of Canaan, andJoseph, likewise, disappeared when Jacob sent him to inquire thepeace of his brothers. Jacob was particularly concerned that theRachel branch of his family was particularly susceptible to thedangers of traveling.

We may still ask a question: Whatpersuaded Jacob to send Benjamin after Yehudah took full responsibilityfor his safety? Could the promise of a mere mortalremove one’s vulnerability to the perils of the Satan?

FEAR OF TRAVELING: LOSS OF LEGACY

One may see Jacob’s reluctance to send Benjamin as more than the fearthat he could lose another child. Jacob was deeply concernedthat Benjamin’s loss would mean the loss of hisown legacy. This particular fear did not arise with respectto his other children. In addition to the family historyof tragedy on the road, to Jacob his son Benjaminrepresented both the future of the Jewish nation and itsshield against the satanic forces that would repeatedly try tocripple us on our journey.

Only Yehudah was able toconvince Jacob that, come what may, nothing dreadful would happento Benjamin and, by extension, Jacob’s legacy.

We mustnow try to understand what it was that was sounique about Benjamin and how Yehudah was able to assuagehis father’s concerns.

Jacob stayed in his uncle Laban’s house for 20 years. It was only when Josephwas born that Jacob decided to return home. Indeed, ourSages tell us that Jacob was “punished” for the 22years (the 20 he stayed with Lavan and the twoyears of his journey home) during which he did notobserve the Mitzvah of honoring his father and mother. Why, indeed, did he wait so long?

Jacob wanted to delayhis return as long as possible to avoid reopening thedangerous conflict with his brother Esau. G-d predicted thisintense conflict even before Jacob and Esau were born, asthe Torah recounted in an earlier parsha. What power didJacob have to ultimately prevail over Esau? The answer isprovided by our Sages in the Talmud (Bava Basra 123b) and Midrash, cited by Rashi, on why Jacob waited untilJoseph was born. He knew that it was Joseph whopossessed the power to vanquish Esau. In the prophetic wordsof Ovadia: “And the house of Jacob shall be afire, and the house of Joseph a flame and thehouse of Esau for stubble.” Fire without a powerful flamedoes not dominate at a distance. Once Joseph was born, Jacob trusted in G-d and wanted to return hometo his parents.

Joseph possessed the unique power to overcomethe threat from Esau. Chassidic literature asserts that Joseph’ssoul transcended both Jacob and Esau’s souls and wastherefore not threatened by Esau’s power, unlike Jacob’sown soul.

When Joseph disappeared, Jacob hopedthat his power would be transferred to his younger brother, Benjamin. Though not possessing a soul as lofty as thatof Joseph, Benjamin would nevertheless share some of his characteristics. In the terminology of Kabbala, Joseph was the “upper tzaddik” and Benjamin the “lower tzaddik.” Joseph possessed the ability totransmit this transcendent power down to the lowest of levels; Benjamin was similarly able to transmit his inferior transcendent powerin the inverse manner, by elevating and uplifting the lowerlevel.

Jacob’s concern was not just for the presentbut also for the future. His success as the fatherof the Jewish nation depended on his ability to remove, repair or sublimate the obstacles on the path to MountSinai and from there to the Messianic Age. Without Joseph, Jacob depended on Benjamin’s ability to accomplish the samegoal, albeit with less intensity.

Jacob’s reasonable fear wasof a mishap that Benjamin might suffer while he wastraveling. The danger of losing Benjamin on his trip fromCanaan to Egypt threatened to undermine our journey towards thefinal Redemption; the path is riddled with obstacles precisely becauseits destination is so critical. In G-d’s system, the greater and the more crucial a goal is themore obstacles will appear on the way towards fulfillment ofthat goal, necessitating greater persistence and fortitude.

YEHUDAH’S GUARANTEE

It was only when Yehudah guaranteed that he would returnhome with Benjamin that Jacob felt able to send hisyoungest child off to meet the Egyptian viceroy.

What wasit about Yehudah’s guarantee that overcame Jacob’s apprehension?

Yehudah was to be the progenitor of King David andhis dynasty of leadership that would endure until Moshiach. Otherkings and leaders were also destined to emerge and provideleadership, for better or worse, for the Jewish people. Whatis the difference between the Davidic dynasty and the otherleaders?

TWO FORMS OF LEADERSHIP

There are two forms ofleadership; functional and essential, or, extrinsic and intrinsic. Most leadersare created by the people they lead. If a groupof people proclaim someone as their leader this individual isthereby empowered to lead and govern. The people’s devotionto their leader helps him unleash whatever hidden talents hemay have. Those chosen for leadership roles become leaders becausethey have been anointed by the people and they functionas such. But leadership for them is not intrinsic totheir existence.

The kings of the Davidic dynasty, particularly theMoshiach, by contrast possess intrinsic and essential royalty. Their powerof leadership transcends that of Joseph, because no obstacle canpossibly deter it. While Joseph is likened to a flamewhich will consume the straw, Yehudah transforms obstacles for goodand brings that goodness into the Messianic Age.

This conceptof bringing the obstacle into Redemption is illustrated with thefollowing anecdote:

A truck driver was driving along on thefreeway. He passed a sign that said “Low bridge ahead.” Before he knew it, he got stuck under the bridge.

A police car pulled up. The officer got out ofhis car and walked around to the truck driver, puthis hands on his hips and said, “Got stuck, huh?”

The truck driver said, “No officer, I was delivering thisbridge and ran out of gas!”

There are two wayswe can look at the obstacles we encounter on ourway to Geula: The first approach is to view themas an impediment that we must struggle to surmount. Webelieve we must do something to blow up the bridgeor lower the highway. That is how most great leadersdeal with obstacles; they try to plow right through them.

The alternative path is to view the obstacle itself asan important part of our mission. We can and shouldtake it with us on our trip and deliver itinto the Messianic Age. A postman cannot wish for thereto be no mail to deliver because then he’dbe out of a job. Our spiritual job is todeliver the obstacle.

When Jacob heard the conviction and certaintyin Yehudah’s voice, he detected the spirit of Moshiachand knew that Yehudah would succeed in the immediate taskof bringing Benjamin back safely and, in so doing, ensurethe final redemption.

Yehudah (read: Moshiach) would certainly be assistedby Joseph and the other great leaders who have battledall forms of adversity to facilitate our continued survival inexile and pave the way for Redemption. However, only Moshiachcan enable us to reach our final destination; he isthe only one who can guarantee success and empower usto transform all obstacles into positive forces.

CHANUKAH LIVE

Thisweek’s parsha is always read during Chanukah and thereis a deep connection between the two.

The light ofChanukah, wielded by the holy and courageous Maccabees, was ableto destroy the Syrian-Greek obstacle. But, alas, it wasonly a matter of time before the next obstacle appeared. Nachmanides states that when the heroes of Chanukah, notwithstanding theirrighteousness, failed to install a leader from the House ofDavid, the victory of Chanukah could not last. Chanukah hadmany of the trappings of the Final Redemption; there wasa rededicated Bais HaMikdash and no subservience by the Jewishpeople to another nation. The crucial element missing was Moshiach, the leader who possesses intrinsic and essential leadership. The Hasmoneandynasty was eventually destroyed and the Roman hegemony began, leadingour people to the present state of exile. If theMaccabees had restored leadership to the descendants of Yehudah andDavid, the light of Chanukah would have transformed the darknessinto light and endured forever.

It is up to ourgeneration to complete the task of bringing on the Redemptionby greeting Moshiach in our Chanukah celebration, and “he willredeem us!”

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